About the Secretary

Steven Terner Mnuchin was sworn in as the 77th Secretary of the Treasury on February 13, 2017. As Secretary, Mr. Mnuchin is responsible for the U.S. Treasury, whose mission is to maintain a strong economy, foster economic growth, and create job opportunities by promoting the conditions that enable prosperity at home and abroad.

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U.S. Fact Sheet - Economic Track of the Fourth Meeting of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED)

5/4/2012

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Through the Economic Track of the Strategic and Economic Dialogue (S&ED), we are expanding opportunities for Americans to export and sell to China by increasing market access and leveling the competitive playing field. We are encouraging economic reforms, including financial sector opening, that would create a more rapidly growing Chinese market for U.S. goods and services by moving China toward more home-grown, consumption-led growth. We are strengthening cooperation on a range of international economic and financial issues, so that we are better able to work together on common global challenges.

The S&ED allows U.S. and Chinese officials at the highest levels to work together to address these and other important challenges through candid and constructive engagement. This week, Secretary Geithner led a U.S. delegation of senior economic officials, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Secretary of Commerce John Bryson, U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk and others, to Beijing for the fourth round of the S&ED, which included discussions with President Hu Jintao, Premier Wen Jiabao, and Vice Premier Wang Qishan, as well as Vice President Xi Jinping and Executive Vice Premier Li Keqiang, and other senior Chinese economic officials.

President Obama has put a high priority on expanding exports, particularly to China’s fast growing market. Since early 2009, U.S. exports of goods to China have almost doubled, growing twice as fast as exports to the rest of the world. In 2011 alone, the United States exported $130 billion in goods and services to China, supporting well over 600,000 jobs here at home. Since 2008, the year before President Obama took office, China’s trade surplus, as a share of its GDP, has fallen from 8 percent to less than 3 percent.

Creating New Opportunities for U.S. Workers and Firms: China is the fastest growing major economy and the third largest destination for U.S. goods and services exports. Reducing Chinese barriers to U.S. exports will help the United States take full advantage of the opportunities in this growing market, creating more jobs for U.S. workers.

Creating a level playing field for U.S. firms and workers

China agreed to participate in negotiations for new rules on official export financing with the United States and other major exporters, with the first meeting to take place this summer in Washington, DC. China is one of the world’s largest providers of export financing today, and China’s participation in negotiated rules governing the terms and conditions of official export financing is critical to making sure that competitive U.S. exports are not undercut by subsidized foreign government financing.

In order to create a more level playing field for U.S. firms competing against Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs), China committed to providing non-discriminatory treatment to all enterprises, regardless of type of ownership, in terms of credit, taxation, and regulatory policies.

China agreed to increase the number of SOEs that pay dividends as well as to increase the amount of dividends actually paid. China will further encourage listed SOEs – which include China’s largest and most profitable SOEs – to increase the portion of profits they pay out in dividends so as to be in line with market levels. SOE profits, as a share of China’s GDP, rose from 1.7 percent in 2001 to a peak of 3.7 percent in 2007, just prior to the global financial crisis, contributing to China’s imbalanced growth pattern. Unlocking the profits maintained in the corporate sector will help boost China’s domestic consumption, creating new opportunities for U.S. producers.

China committed to submit this year a revised comprehensive offer to join the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement (GPA) – one that responds to the requests of the United States and other GPA parties. The United States is focused on ensuring that China’s offer is commensurate with other WTO GPA parties. Opening one of the largest and fastest growing procurement markets would provide substantial opportunities for U.S. exports.

To help level the playing field and increase protections for U.S. investors, the United States and China agreed to intensify negotiations for a U.S.-China Bilateral Investment Treaty.

China committed to open up further, including new sectors, to foreign investment. China also committed to further simplify and enhance the transparency of its investment approval system, and to focus its security review of foreign investment solely on national security concerns and adhere to specific timelines and review standards.

Following its commitment from last year’s S&ED, China issued measures providing that departmental rules and administrative regulations have to be posted for public comment on an official government website for a period of no less than 30 days, except under special circumstances. This is intended to give all interested parties, including U.S. companies, a better opportunity to learn about and comment on rules and regulations that affect their business.

Ensuring greater protection of intellectual property rights (IPR)

Innovation is fundamental to America’s core competitiveness and future growth, and preventing theft of our inventors’ and researchers’ intellectual property remains a top priority. China recognized the importance of increasing sales in China of legitimate IP-intensive products and services in line with China’s status as a globally significant consumer of these goods.

China committed to extend its efforts to promote the use of legal software by Chinese enterprises, in addition to more regular audits of software on government computers.

China agreed to prioritize trade secrets in its IPR protection policies and to increase enforcement against trade secret misappropriation.

China agreed to treat IPR owned or developed in other countries the same as IPR owned or developed in China.

China agreed to intensive discussions on the implementation of its commitment that technology transfer is to be decided by firms independently and not to be used by the Chinese government as a pre-condition for market access.

Shifting China Toward Consumption-based Domestic Demand-led Growth: China has committed to greatly increase its reliance on domestic demand – particularly household consumption – for growth, and to reduce China’s dependence on exports and investment. For American exporters, this means a much more rapidly growing Chinese market for U.S. goods and services, as well as a pattern of Chinese growth that supports stronger and more sustained growth of the global market.

China’s commitment to continued exchange rate reform is a critical part of this effort. While important progress has been achieved, more remains to be done.

China’s exchange rate has appreciated and is up about 13 percent against the U.S. dollar when accounting for differences in inflation since June 2010, and 40 percent since 2005. China also recently announced that it is widening its trading band to allow market forces to play a greater role in setting the exchange rate.

China committed to enhancing exchange rate flexibility, letting supply and demand play a bigger role, and reiterated its determination to implement fully its G-20 commitments to move more rapidly to a more market-determined exchange rate system.

China also is taking a number of steps to raise household income and to lower the prices of consumer goods and services that ordinary Chinese purchase, including from the United States.

China cut import tariffs on certain consumer goods in the run up to the S&ED this year and has committed to another round of tariff cuts before the end of 2012.

China agreed to expand its pilot program to reduce taxes on services to other regions and sectors. U.S. services firms are among the most competitive in the world and stand to benefit as China’s services market grows.

Expanding Opportunities for U.S. Firms Through Promoting More Resilient, Open, and Market-Oriented Financial Systems: Financial sector reform is critical to our goals of leveling the playing field and promoting home-grown, consumption-led growth in China. China’s current financial system provides low returns and few choices to consumers, leading them to save too much, and channels cheap financing to state-owned enterprises through large state-owned banks. Financial opening will support more competition and give Chinese households higher income on their savings and better access to a range of financial products so they can meet their financial goals and insure against life’s risks.

Developing China’s financial markets and promoting consumer financing

China now has amended its regulations to implement last year’s S&ED commitment to allow U.S. and other foreign insurance companies to sell mandatory auto liability insurance in what is the world’s largest market for automobiles.

China committed that foreign and domestic auto financing companies – currently dependent on China’s state-owned banks for funding – will be able to issue bonds regularly, including issuing securitized bonds. This will help boost the competitive edge in China of U.S. auto firms, which are global leaders in auto financing.

China committed to increase the total dollar amount that foreigners can invest in China’s stock and bond markets under its Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) program from $30 to $80 billion. This will reduce restrictions on the free flow of capital and increase opportunities for U.S. pension and mutual funds and other investment management firms.

China committed to allow foreign investors to take up to 49 percent equity stakes in domestic securities joint ventures, going beyond China’s WTO commitment of 33 percent. This provides U.S. investors greater ability to control their operations and protect proprietary technology and know how. China also agreed to shorten the waiting period (“seasoning period”) for securities joint ventures to apply to expand into brokerage, fund management, and trading activities that are essential to building competitive securities businesses.

China agreed to allow investors from the U.S. and other economies to establish joint venture brokerages to trade commodity and financial futures and hold up to 49 percent of the equity in those joint ventures.

China reaffirmed its intention to promote more market-based interest rates. Raising the ceiling on deposit rates also would allow Chinese households to earn a higher return on their savings, supporting greater household consumption. And it would make it more costly to continue exchange rate intervention.